(Cricket news) Rishabh Pant recently had a terrible accident which will keep him out for most of the year. India will definitely miss their star wicket keeper especially with the ODI World Cup coming up. In whiteball cricket, the likes of Ishan Kishan, Sanju Samson and even KL Rahul can take up that role but in Tests is when he will be missed the most. India have a 4 match Test series against Australia coming up and they need to win it to book their place in the World Test Championship final. The fact that India don’t have an obvious replacement shows that it is a problem.

Last year the selectors made a decision of dropping 38 year old Wriddhiman Saha from the squad despite good performances. Coach Rahul Dravid said that with Pant having established himself as the first choice keeper, they want to groom a younger keeper. K.S Bharat has been the 2nd choice keeper since then but he is yet to make his debut. India could show faith in him but playing him directly in a crucial series against Australia will be very risky.

India always plays with 5 bowlers and they reason they can do that is because of Pant’s batting prowess. He bats at number 5 which is something that no other wicket keeper in the World does. Bharat is a good keeper but his batting prowess cannot come anywhere near Pant.

Bringing back Wriddhiman Saha is an option but it is extremely unlikely. India could bring in someone like Ishan Kishan who has international experience. He has been for India A and the Jharkhand Ranji team. The other option is KL Rahul which may be the one that makes the most sense. India could get Shubman Gill and Rohit Sharma to open which means that KL Rahul can bat in the middle order and keep wickets.

All will depend on whether Rahul can do the duties in the longest format. He has done it in ODIs and T20Is but keeping in Tests is a different ball game. Only time will tell what the selectors and management decides but Pant absence will definitely be felt.

Also read: India’s ideal playing XI for the T20Is against Sri Lanka